Randy Newman - Trouble in Paradise

By Sam Sutherland

He's written some of the thorniest, darkest vignettes ever tucked into
the verses and chorus of a pop song, but Randy Newman's greatest
commercial successes have come with his most ephemeral material.
"Short People" was a throwaway, albeit a terrific one, but it
catapulted him onto pop charts and generated controversy among dim-bulbs
who didn't realize he was kidding. Dwarfing that hit (pun intended) was
"I Love L.A.," which has become an anthem despite the squalor of
its imagery and Newman's hilarious inclusion of some of the ugliest
thoroughfares imaginable in his litany of glorious local streets. Trouble
in Paradise thus derives much of its familiarity from this one romping
gag, yet its best songs tilt toward Newman's darker side, none more so
than "Christmas in Capetown," which reconstructs the holiday
through the eyes of an Afrikaner racist. Ho, ho, ho.